London Calling

Coming soon to a London pitch near you: Tevez, with Mascherano in tow, moves to West Ham. Huh?








In a shocking move on the final day of this summer's transfer period, Argentinian duo Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano moved to West Ham. While most expected the pair to leave the mess of a club that is Corinthians, most believed that one of the Premiership giants like Chelsea, Manchester United, or Liverpool would be their destination. No one - and I mean, not a soul - ever imagined that a mid-level, relegation-threatened club like West Ham would be the lucky team to snatch Tevez and Mascherano. To call it a massive coup for the Hammers is an understatement - imagine Ichiro Suzuki opting to sign for the Cleveland Indians instead of the Yankees. It is a move that is so surprising that many people in the soccer world have already started to question how exactly this could have happened. The answer seems to stem from a mysterious takeover of Corinthians a few years ago and a possible takeover of West Ham in the near future. In 2003, a firm called Media Sports Investments (MSI) purchased the giant Brazilian club and immediately invested heavily in new players; Tevez and Mascherano soon helped them win the Brazilian league title. Almost just as quickly, the immediate success and sky-high expectations sent the club into turmoil. No one really knew what to think of MSI or their leader, Kia Joorabchian, who seemed to spend an awful lot of time in England for the head man of a struggling Brazilian squad. In stepped new coach Emerson Leao, who promptly stripped Tevez of the captaincy (a move that only worsened the tense situation, already a dicey one when Tevez ripped Corinthians fans in the press and bolted to Buenos Aires). And next thing you know, Tevez and Mascherano are in London signing for the Hammers, amidst speculation that MSI is about to purchase a large stake in West Ham. Whatever the case may be, West Ham stole all the headlines on deadline day and will surely be a force to be reckoned with this year, Corinthians lost its two best players, and an already murky situation just became a lot more mysterious. The thot plickens.

Across town, Arsenal snatched a duo that might even be better than Tevez and Mascherano. And all it cost them were two disgruntled players. In what amounts to a trade (a rarity in the soccer world), the Gunners acquired Julio Baptista from Real Madrid and Wiliam Gallas from Chelsea in exchange for left winger Jose Antonio Reyes and left back Ashley Cole. There is petty crime and then there is highway robbery - this deal falls under the latter category. Reyes, for all his promise, has never developed the way that, say, another Iberian wunderkind Cristiano Ronaldo has at ManU. Cole, albeit one of the best left backs in the world when healthy, has had far too many injury battles for someone with his pricetag. Remember that Arsenal made it to the Champions League final last year without Reyes and Cole doing much of anything. In steps Baptista, a massive talent and, at 24, a player who will only get better. After scoring bags of goals with Sevilla, he moved to Real Madrid who promptly tried to make him into a midfielder. Huh? Halfway through the season, seeing that the round-peg-in-a-square-hole approach wasn't working (see Gravesen, Thomas), los Blancos moved Baptista up front again, where he resumed tormenting defenses with his lethal combination of strength and skill. At the back, Gallas is no less than one of the top 10 centerbacks in the world. And he's 28, about to enter the prime of his career. Ultimately, not only did Arsene Wenger secure the services of two of the best players in the world, two youngsters who are just starting to play their best footie, but he did so without spending a dime (in fact, Chelski paid to get Cole) and even managed to solve two problems in the process. Another coup for Arsenal - with Rosicky, Baptista, and Gallas, the Gunners have to top any list of best off-season moves.

So it was only fitting that on Sunday in London, in Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium, Tevez and Mascherano donned the white & blue strip of Argentina to do battle with Julio Baptista, wearing the yellow of Brazil. Even though it was only a friendly and both teams are still recovering from their World Cup hangovers, any time Argentina and Brazil are on the same pitch the word "friendly" really doesn't apply. Unfortunately, Baptista started on the bench for the Canarinha, but Tevez and Mascherano were in the initial 11 for the Albiceleste. Despite the absences of Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, and Adriano (or maybe because of...?), Brazil were simply unstoppable. Argentina, even with Riquelme and Messi up front and the likes of Milito and Coloccini in the back, were unable to cope with some inspired Brazilian attacking. Robinho had an off night, but fantastic performances from Fred and Elano and Carvalho were more than enough to ensure a Brazilian victory. In fact it was another Gunner, midfield destroyer Gilberto Silva, who kept Riquelme under wraps and freed his more attack-minded teammates to dissect the Argentine backline. Tevez fought hard, but ineffectively. Messi was almost anonymous. Riquelme had one of those quiet nights that make you wonder if an Argentinian coach might want to shoot a lit firecracker up his rear end. When Kaka came on as a sub (hard to imagine), he wasted little time before smashing the third goal past Abbondazieri to make the final score 3-0 to Brazil. It was a game that made one miss the wonderful summer days of the World Cup, when Argentina was delighting fans with one amazing performance after another, when teams like Brazil and Italy were on TV every other day, and when every soccer fan got to spend a month in heaven. But hey, all is not lost - leagues in Spain, England, and Germany have already started up, Italy's Serie A starts next week, and the Champions League is just around the corner. And oh yeah, on Wednesday in Paris, it's Italy vs France, part deux. Life is good.